Gloria Mattera Scholarship

Dr. Gloria Mattera was in the business of changing lives. After her graduation from SUNY Brockport in 1952, she taught in the Greece Central School District for one year. With a reputation as a creative teacher, Dr. Mattera then was invited to join the SUNY Geneseo faculty to teach in the Geneseo demonstration school. She earned her master’s degree in education from Brockport and her doctorate from Penn State University.

During the summer of 1966, she conducted a six-week workshop for teachers of migrant children. That workshop introduced her to the needs of the migrant community. As a result, she dedicated herself to finding ways to serve that community. She founded the Geneseo Migrant Center in 1968 with activities for school-age children and quickly expanded the center to include a daycare center for infants and pre-school children. Migrant parents became involved through adult education and recreation programs, whenever their time allowed.

With strong support from the administration at SUNY Geneseo, the Migrant Center grew to become a model program for assisting migrant workers and their families, supporting migrant farmworkers in western New York with adult basic education and English as a Second Language classes. Additionally, it provided medical and dental services, arts programs, and assisted migrant dropout youth from across the country.

Dr. Mattera earned national recognition, including the Literacy Volunteers of America Chairman’s Award, election to the Rural Opportunities, Inc., Farmworker Advocate Hall of Fame, and the New York State Migrant Tutorial Consortium Award for Service to Migrant Children.

Although her career included three decades as a professor at SUNY Geneseo and nearly two decades with the BOCES Geneseo Migrant Center, she never stopped supporting The College at Brockport. Her loyalty included serving as a member of numerous Brockport Alumni Association committees. In 1986, she was inducted into its Hall of Heritage, the Alumni Association’s highest honor. The Gloria Mattera Room in Alumni House is named in her honor.

Her passing in 1988 left a void for everyone who was touched by her kindness and generosity. It also led to the creation of the Gloria Mattera Scholarship, which supports an incoming freshman or transfer student preparing for a career in education. Qualified applicants will demonstrate an excellent academic record, leadership experiences, positive involvement with children, and service to community and school.